The top 20 stories of a painful year

2018 was a tumultuous year for the Catholic Church, and frankly, most of the news was bad news. With prayers for more positive headlines in 2019, here are my own selections for the 20 most important stories of the past year:

#20. Pope’s address to the Roman Curia. In past years Pope Francis has used this occasion to deliver a tongue-lashing to his staff. This year the address was gentler, but a strong message remained: a harsh condemnation of his critics.

#15. The release of Asia Bibi, the Pakistani Christian woman who had been sentenced to death in 2010 on false blasphemy charges. She remains in Pakistan, however, where Islamic radicals have vowed to kill her.

#8. The Pennsylvania grand-jury report, revealing more than 1,000 cases of reported clerical abuse since the 1940s. Although most of the allegations dated back decades, the report confirmed a pattern of cover-ups by the hierarchy.

#4. An agreement between the Vatican and China, giving Beijing a role in the appointment of new bishops. The exact terms of the deal have not been disclosed, but bishops of the “underground” Church have been ordered to cede their roles to bishops illicitly appointed by the government.

#3. The removal of Theodore McCarrick from public ministry, and from the College of Cardinals, following revelations that he had been credibly accused of molesting a teenager. The news was quickly followed by a series of revelations about McCarrick’s long history of homosexual activity.

#1. The Vigano testimony: the stunning charge by a former papal nuncio that Pope Francis was aware of McCarrick’s misconduct, but ignored sanctions that had been imposed upon the American prelate by Pope Benedict XVI and instead made him a trusted adviser. The stunning claim—and Archbishop Vigano’s argument that a homosexual network at the Vatican had protected McCarrick—prompted dozens of American bishops to join in calls for a thorough investigation.

Phil Lawler has been a Catholic journalist for more than 30 years. He has edited several Catholic magazines and written eight books. Founder of Catholic World News, he is the news director and lead analyst at CatholicCulture.org. See full bio.

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Dateline Heaven, Jan 3. The Blessed Trinity today announced, despite all the ills and problems in the Church: The Father still loves and will not forsake His Church; The Son will continue to visit every altar when Mass is celebrated; the Holy Spirit will continue to shower graces on those who seek them and to inspire saints. The statement concluded with Amen.

'Abortion Was the Leading Cause of Death Worldwide in 2018, Killing 42 Million People'
https://www.lifenews.com/2018/12/31/abortion-was-the-leading-cause-of-death-worldwide-in-2018-killing-42-million-people/

Posted by: feedback -
Jan. 01, 2019 8:33 AM ET USA

Related to #2 is Pope Francis' unprecedented public admission of guilt and apology for "grave errors" to the Chilean sex abuse victims. And then, four months later, his "I will not say a single word" about the bizarre papal promotions granted to Uncle Ted McCarrick.

Posted by: Randal Mandock -
Dec. 31, 2018 11:52 PM ET USA

Regarding #20 above, in preparing for an academic sparring match next month I bought a textbook published in September, titled "A Catholic Introduction to the Bible." On p. 53 the authors wrote: "Much later in Christian history, certain groups with roots in the Protestant Reformation would dismiss the authority of the Pentateuch by characterizing it as 'law' opposed to the 'Gospel' that comes through Jesus Christ." Remind anyone of Pope Francis' "ridigity" versus "logic of the Gospel" mantra?

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